As the month of June cruises to an end and the 4th of July holiday weekend rapidly approaches, we are getting seriously closer to some actual football.
One of the better quotes that I just remembered last night came to me from offensive coordinator Charley Molnar, when we shot the breeze after the Fantasy Camp banquet. He mentioned how nice it was to have our group in town, just because all he’s been thinking about -- from the moment he wakes up, to the second he goes to bed -- is Purdue. It struck me as crazy that the focus would already be on week one in early June, but that’s the life of a college football coach.
All that leads me into a nice preview of the opening game match-up from the opponents point-of-view, where the Purdue website Hammer & Rails profiled the 2010 Irish team. (I’ll give him a link, even though he forgot about me in the Blog Representation...) It’s always interesting getting an opponent’s perspective on the team you follow, so if you’re interested in what Notre Dame’s 6-6 season looked like from a Boilermaker, have at it.
Moving to the notes...
*****
With Bubba Starling headed to Nebraska or the route of Carl Crawford (another dynamic quarterback that signed with Nebraska, only to pick the MLB Draft path), all eyes are on South Carolina’s Justin Worley, who heads to South Bend this weekend with his family to spend three days on campus.
While many Irish hearts and minds were set on Bubba, a quick look at Worley’s game tape shows a quarterback that already plays in an offensive very similar to Brian Kelly’s. After noting his 8,000 yards and 90 touchdown passes over the past two seasons and the prolific throws he’s making as a high school sophomore and junior, it’s pretty easy to get on the Worley train as well.
That said, Steve Wiltfong of IrishSportsDaily.com picked up an interesting quote from Worley’s father that sheds a little light on why quarterbacks are hesitant to jump at the offer to play for the Irish.
“Obviously, Notre Dame would be number one on that list from an academic side,” Worley’s father said. “Also relationship with the coaches, and the type of offense they run, and the number of quarterbacks they already have in the pipeline, which Notre Dame has a lot.”
Worley’s the top quarterback on Notre Dame’s board, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Irish either locked in Worley or took a pass on quarterbacks in this class all together. Regardless of how quarterback friendly an offense is, it’s going to be tough to sign a national recruit when you’ve got a crowded depth chart like Notre Dame’s.
*****
Brian Kelly already made headlines with he and his wife Paqui’s $250,000 donation to Notre Dame for cancer research. He’s taken another step with the Kelly Cares Foundation, which had its official kickoff with Football 101, a guide to helping women understand football.
A sold-out group of women gathered in Notre Dame stadium to go through the ABCs of football and meet the new Notre Dame coach.
Even more interesting, is the heroic journey Paqui Kelly has gone through, which Eric Hansen detailed in the South Bend Tribune.
The shape of the Kelly Cares Foundation dates back to December 2002, when a baseline mammogram that Paqui’s doctor suggested she have revealed a lump in her breast. She was 37 years old at the time.
She acknowledges that if she had waited until she turned 40, the benchmark some women use to push them to get the test, her story might not be teeming with so much hope.
It wasn’t until six months later - June 2003 - that the diagnosis came back as cancer. Paqui had three children - ages 6, 3, and 2 - at the time and a husband whose career window had just opened to the kind of jobs he had been dreaming about.
Paqui accelerated through the “Why me” stage and attacked the Stage 1 cancer almost like a coach would.
“We had a game plan,” she said. “And I’m not making light of how people deal with stuff, but Brian and I tend to use humor, more than get real serious. We’re not heavies that way.
“I remember when we were waiting for the tests to come back to see (if the lump) was cancerous. At first they told me it was 999,999 out of a million chance it would come back (benign). Brian kept calling, asking me if I got the tests back.
“When I did, I said, ‘Honey, I’m one in a million. Just not the one you want me to be.’”
The next even for Kelly Cares will be a golf tournament at the Warren Course at Notre Dame on July 12 and another on July 19th at Kemper Lakes in suburban Chicago. For info on the ND event, call (574) 631-4116 and the Chicago event, call (847) 609-1147. It’s always a nice excuse to play golf for a good cause and get out of some work.
*****
Another nice nugget from the South Bend Tribune was on Charlie Weis’ return to South Bend for the Hannah & Friends events that took place last weekend. Former Irish players Rocket Ismail, Tony Rice, Chinendum Ndukwe, Brady Quinn, Golden Tate, Ryan Harris and a slew of others came back to town to support Weis and his charity as well as to place some golf at Blackthorn. (A pretty great track for those that haven’t played it yet.)
Eric Hansen spent some time with Charlie, and while he offered him plenty of opportunities, Weis never bit when given the opportunity to drop a juicy quote.
Here’s the best he gave, when asked about all the conference affiliation talk.
“As a Notre Dame fan, I think whatever the powers-that-be feel is best for Notre Dame, that’s what they should do,” Weis said. “I don’t really have an opinion one way or another. It never really crossed my mind when I was coaching. Same thing with scheduling.
“The only thing I was happy about -- and this might sound weird -- was that the Big 12 held together. I’m living about 35 minutes away from Kansas. Kansas State sits an hour and a half away and Mizzou is about two hours away. I think a conference break-up would have really hurt those teams.”